Wing Shooting
 

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I'm wanting to improve my skills on waterfowl hunting. I love it! I've been hunting for years but really getting into the goose/duck hunting in the last few years. I have a wonderful dog (Winchester) but I'm concerned about my wing shooting! Where and how would you work on shooting skills for flying objects? I do have a skeet thrower but seems like there might be a place I could go? Any advice? And I was blaming the gun! haha

Peggy

RE: Wing Shooting
 

You must develope a good consistent gun mount andgood fundamentals.
I would suggest finding a skeet range and shoot that low gun. After you can consistenly brake a 22 or better everytime then see if you can get permission to move back to the fence. This will give you a bit longer shot. When you got that down you can graduate to sporting clays.
It takes time and work to become an accomplished wingshot. Even those that make it look easy missed targets and game when first starting out until they honed thier skills. Work on you basics and in waterfowling where and how to place decoys , when and how to call (contrary to those with contest aspirations 3 basic calls is all you need to know) and buy best decoys you can afford. A 1/2 dozen quality dekes will outdraw a dozen or more cheapo's. Forget aboutall those 50 yard + claims. Most hunters are terrible judging distance and for those that shot beyond 45 yards I'll gaurantee for evey 1 they kill cleanly 3 or 4 fly away to die at a later.

RE: Wing Shooting
 

The best thing can suggest would be to keep shooting your skeet but simply go hunting as much as possible. Doing it in a real situation is the best practice IMO.

Remember you really cant lead to much, pretend your squirting a water hose at it so lead it as you would a water hose.
Good luck

RE: Wing Shooting
 

Thanks for the advice Ruddyduck! I agree with your last comment about 3 or 4 getting away... What do you think about the more expensive shot?

RE: Wing Shooting
 

Trust me Peggy I'm no expert, but I did have the good fortune of working at a trap and skeet range when I was younger. Picked up a lot of good tips there,( as well as a lot of free practice). Fundamentals are everything. Keep your face on the gun stock, before, durring, and after the shot. You should see that bird falling from the sky while you're still swinging the gun. Dont get into the habit of jerking your cheek off the gun at the instant you pull the trigger, to see if you hit the bird. Make the gun become an extension of your head, and FOLLOW THROUGH. I think it was best described to me like this... Pretend your gun is a garden hose, spray nozzle included. You already know you have to lead a moving target, so that the bird will actually fly into your shot pattern. Now, if your not swinging that gun, your spray from that garden hose is going to be just a roundish circle of water. BUT, if you SWING the nozzle, along the projected flight path of your target, you've just enongated your spray pattern about 3 times the size of your original (not swinging) spray pattern. Also, when mounting the gun for the shot, bring the gun to your cheek, not visa versa. Keep your head and eyes level. How often have you seen a new shooter bring the gun up to their shoulder, then cock their head down so they're looking down the barrell.All this does it totally screw up your sight picture, as well as your depth perception.
Practice in your house too. Well, make durn sure your gun is empty, but you can practice your swing and follow through in the living room. Visualize your target, from all different angles. Pick up a snap cap if you don't want to dry fire the gun. If you have one near-by, frequent a trap and skeet range. Skeet shooting IMO will help you more with your swing and follow through, as opposed to trap, where the targets are flying directly away from you, from various angles.